Where next?

Bobby Petrino left the Atlanta Falcons to take the Arkansas job. Things didn't seem to be working out in Atlanta, so the move to Arkansas isn't all that alarming. Leaving the Falcons with three games left ... that's a little alarming. I'm not going to rag on Petrino for his obvious lack of commitment to jobs ... his track record speaks for itself. My question is: where will Petrino go from here?

Is it possible that Petrino will be stuck at Arkansas long enough to regain some credibility before his next job? Arkansas leaned heavily on Darren McFadden this year, and McFadden is almost certainly not going to be suiting up for the Razorbacks next year. Peyton Hillis, Robert Johnson and Marcus Monk were seniors last year. Felix Jones may be back next year, but will he be as effective without McFadden carrying the bulk of the load. Casey Dick almost certainly will be back, but he threw for less than 1500 yards this year and no one returning had even 150 yards receiving this year. I'm not an Arkansas football expert, but this doesn't seem to be a great job immediately.

Coupled with the lack of talent (which was hurt by the defection of Mitch Mustain) is the fact that Arkansas is in the SEC, in the same division (SEC West) as Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. While the two Mississippi schools aren't exactly juggernauts, MSU seems to be getting things straightened out. Even if Arkansas can beat out the Mississippi schools, it's hard to imagine the Razorbacks consistently beating LSU, Alabama and Auburn as long as Miles, Saban and Tuberville are at those institutions. Now, when you throw in Florida (Meyer), Georgia (Richt), South Carolina (Spurrier) and Tennessee (Fulmer), Arkansas will have trouble making it in the top half of the SEC year in and year out. While they might still be competitive nationally, they won't be in the national title picture because the conference is too tough. Thus, the record won't be as gaudy as the 41-9 mark he accumulated in four years at Louisville.

It seems like Petrino would have to turn Arkansas into a consistent SEC and national power to be attractive to schools that would be attractive to Petrino. But, at that point, Arkansas would be a top job ... so why would Petrino leave? If he builds a perennial power in the best conference in college football, where would you want to go from there? While Petrino's track record points to him not staying at Arkansas for the long haul, I'm wondering if he isn't stuck there.